Internal-combustion engine.



N0. 896,485. PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908. J. TINLIN.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2s, 190e.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908.

J. TINLIN. INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLIGATION FILED J'ULYZB, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2,

JAMES TINLIN, OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 18, 1908.

Application :filed July 23, 1906. Serial No. 327,257.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES TINLIN, a citi- Zen of the United States, and a resident of Quincy, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Internal- Combustion Engines', of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to internal combustion engines, and has for its object to provide a novel construction whereby the explosive charge may be compressed, ignited and then admitted to the working cylinder with a minimum amount of waste and a maximum efficiency.

Although the invention is not confined in its application to rotary internal combustion engines, yet I have herein chosen to illustrate it as embodied in an engine of this type, because it is the preferred embodiment. Vhere the invention is embodied in this type of engine I provide a compression or explosion chamber within the movable abutment, which is commonly used in this type of engines for normally closing the cylinder, and provide for admitting to this explosion chamber the compressed charge and igniting said charge within said chamber, and simultaneously with the ignition or subsequent thereto admitting the ignited charge to the working cylinder. Since the ignition of the charge does not take place until after the abutment has closed the passage behind the piston there is no chance for the highly compressed gases to escape past the abutment while in the act of returning to its normal position, as is the case with all rotary gas engines with which I am familiar.

I will now proceed to describe the preferred embodiment of the invention, and then point out the novel features thereof in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section through an engine embodying my invention, said section being taken on a plane parallel with the axis of rotation; Fig. 2 is a section through the power cylinder on the line ms@ Fig.i1 Fig. 3 is a view through the abutment and upper portion of the compression cylinder on the line y-y, Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a section through the piston; Fi 5 is a detail of the abutment actuatingmec anism. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of Fig. 5.

3 designates the driving shaft on which the power piston 4 is mounted, and 5 the annular cylinder in which said piston travels. This cylinder 5 is formed in a suitable casing 6, which may be water-jacketedas usual, and the piston 4 is carried by a disk 7 which is secured to the shaft 3. 8 designates the exhaust opening through which the burned gases are discharged. 9 designates the abutment which is commonly used in rotary engines to normally close the cylinder and form one end thereof, but which is adapted to move to permit the piston to pass.

The abutment herein shown is of the oseillating type, and oscillates about an axis substantially parallel to that of the driving shaft 3, and said abutment is out away on one side, as at 10, to permit the piston to pass. The parts thus far described are such as are commonly found in rotary internal combustion engines, and they operate in a well known manner.

In my improvement the abutment 9 is made hollow and is provided with an interior compression chamber 11 into which the explosive charge is compressed, as will be more fully hereinafter described, and from which it is admitted into the working cylinder 5 preferably after it has been exploded in said chamber 11.

The abutment 9 is provided with an inlet port 12 which connects the chamber 11 with the cylinder 5, said port being normally closed by a suitable inlet valve 13, which may be operated in any suitable way.

As one convenient means of operating the valve I have herein shown a cam on the main shaft 3 which cam actuates a lever 71 pivoted to a support 72 carried by the casing. Said lever has pivotal engagement with the stem 74 of the valve 13 and is acted upon by a suitable spring 75 which tends to keep the end of the lever against the cam 70.

In the present embodiment of my invention the port 12 leads into a passageway 14 which opens through the side of tlie abutment and directly into the cylinder 5. In the operation of these parts the explosive charge is forced into the chamber 11 under compression by some suitable means which will be more fully hereinafter described and at the proper time, when the parts are in substantially the position shown in Fig. 2, the abutment 9 is turned to permit the piston to pass. As soon as the piston has passed into the dotted line position, Fig. 2, the abutment 9 is turned to close the cylinder, and immediately thereafter the inlet valve 13 is opened. Just prior to the opening of the inlet valve 13, or simultaneously therewith, the compressed charge within the compression chamber 11 is ignited by means of any usual ignition device 79 and the burned gases, under high pressure, are admitted to the cylinder 5 and act against the piston 4, thereby moving said piston forwardly. As the piston moves forward the gases in front thereof are discharged through the exhaust opening 8, and the burned gases between the piston and the abutment 9 impel the piston forward.

It will be noted that the gases under high pressure are not admitted to the cylinder until after the abutment 9 has yclosed the cylinder behind the piston, and therefore there is no loss of pressure due to escape of highly compressed gases while the abutment 9 is closing as is the case in most rotary internal combustion engines.

As stated above the charge of explosive gas may be compressed and forced into the compression chamber 1 1 in any suitable way. As a convenient means for accomplishing this I have shown a rotary compression cylinder the piston of which operates in unison. with the power piston 4. The compressioncylinder is designated by 15 and the compression piston by 16. Said compression piston is mounted on a suitable disk 17 which is rigidly secured to the shaft 3. The abutment 9 is of sufficient length to coperate with both the cylinders 5 and 15, and it is provided with a recess 13 in line with the cylinder 15, as best seen in Fig. 3, which recess permits the piston 16 to pass as the abutment is turned.

19 designates a port connecting the chamber 11 with the recess 18, and 2O is a valve, preferably a balanced valve, which controls said port. The explosive charge is admitted to the cylinder 15 through a port 21 which communicates by any suitable connection with a carbureter or similar device (not shown). As the compression piston slips past the port 21 a sufficient vacuum is established between said piston and the abutment 9 to suck into the compression cylinder 15 an explosive charge, and during the next revolution of the piston this explosive charge is compressed between the compression piston and the abutment 9, and as the compression increases the valve 2() is forced from its seat and this compressed charge is admitted into the compression chamber 1 1 within the abutment 9. This particular means for compressing the explosive charge and forcing it into the compression chamber 11 is not essential to my invention however.

The abutment 9 may be oscillated in any suitable way. I have herein shown it as provided with a hollow neck or stem 25 which has thereon a segmental double spiral gear 26. driven by a segmental spiral gear 27 mounted on a countershaft 28, said countershaft being driven from the driving shaft 3 by suitable spiral gears 29. The segmental spiral gear 27 is provided with two segments 30 and 31, the segment 30 having a right hand spiral and the segment 31 a left hand spiral. I/Vith this construction it will be seen that as the countershaft 28 rotates continuously, the abutment 9 will be turned lirst in one direction and then in the other.

The operation of the invention as thus far described will be apparent from the foregoing and briefly stated is as follows: As the compression piston rotates it first draws in an explosive charge through the port 21, and at the same time compresses the previously drawn-in explosive charge andv forces the latter through the port 19 into the compression chamber 11. Just after the abutment 9 has turned to permit the power piston to pass and has again closed the cylinder behind said piston the inlet valve 13 is opened, and at this time or just previously the compressed charge in the chamber 11 is exploded, the highly compressed exploded gas then entering the power cylinder 5 and impelling the piston forward. The abutment 9, therefore, has two functions to perform. In the first place it acts as an abutment which closes the cylinder and opens to permit the piston to pass, and in the second place it constitutes the compression or explosion chamber within which the gases are exploded. The casing for the cylinders may be made in any suitable way. I have herein shown it as comprising a central section 280 and two side sections 290 and 30, these sections being secured together in any suitable way, as by means of bolts 310, each of them being water-jacketed.

I have herein shown the rear piston as being water-cooled although this forms no part of my present invention.

Referring to Fig. 4 it will be seen that the power piston 4 is hollow and is provided with a water-chamber 35. This chamber communicates by means of a duct 36 extending through the disk 7 with a cross-duct or bore 38 in the hub 39 of the said disk. The bore 38 communicates with a chamber 40 formed in a stationary casing 41 through which the shaft 3 projects, said chamber 40 communieating with any suitable source of Water supply through a port 42. The same way of water-cooling the compression cylinder 14 may be employed if desired. I have also provided means for spraying at intervals a limited quantity of water into the cylinder, which water immediately becomes converted into steam and thus serves not only to lubricate the piston but also to pack it. The desired quantity of water may be ejected from This spiral gear meshes with and is the piston 4 into the cylinder in a variety of I chamber, means to move the abutment to ways and through either face thereof.

I have herein shown the rear face of the piston as having an opening controlled by a spring pressed valve 44. ,This valve is normally held to its seat, but when the highly compressed exploded gases are admitted to the cylinder the pressure in the cylinder is surfiicient to open the valve and thus permit a slight quantity of water to be thrown into the cylinder.

The valve 44 is herein shown as mounted in a block 45, which is screw-threaded into the piston, and the stem 46 of the valve has a head 47 against which the compressed gases act. The valve is normally held to its seat by means of a suitable spring 48 which is received within a bridge-piece 49, and either the head. 47 or the block 45 is provided with grooves 50. When a charge of gas is exploded the pressure against the head 47 is sufficient to force the valve slightly from its scat, the movement of the valve being permitted by the amount which the head 47 can move. Vhen the valve is thus lifted from its seat a small amount of water will escape through the grooves 50, and this water upon entering the cylinder will immediately be convertedv into steam. The steam thus in the cylinder will not only lubricate the piston but a lilm of steam will fill the space between the piston and walls of the'cylinder and thus prevent any possible leakage of gas past the piston.

yI believe that I am the first to devise a rotary engine which has an explosion chamber situated entirely Within the abutment, so that the charge of gas may be forced into the explosion chamber and exploded therein, and then admitted therefrom to the cylinder after the abutment has closed the passage behind the piston, and, therefore, I desire to claim this feature broadly.

I wish it to be understood however that this invention is not limited in its use to rotary engines.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a rotary piston therein, a movable abutment having an explosion chamber located entirely within it, and means to move the abutment to allow the piston to pass.

2. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a rotary piston therein, a movable abutment having a chamber located entirely within it, means to move the abutment to allow the piston to pass, means to force a charge of gas entirely within the chamber, and means operating subsequently to admit said charge to the cylinder.

3. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a rotary piston therein, a movable abutment having within it a closed explosion allow the piston to pass, means to ignite a charge of gas within said explosion chamber, and means to admit said ignited charge to the cylinder.

4. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a rotary piston therein, an oscillating abutment normally closing the cylinder but adapted to move to permit the piston to pass, said abutment having within it a closed chamber, means to force the charge of gas into said chamber before the abutment turns to permit the piston to pass, and means to admit said charge to the cylinder after the piston has passed the abutment and subsequent to the closing of the cylinder by the abutment.

5. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a rotary piston therein, an oscillating abutment normally closing the cylinder but adapted to move to permit the piston to pass, means to operate the abutment, said abutment having within it a closed explosion chamber, an inlet valve to admit an explosive charge to said chamber, means to ignite said charge, and means to admit the ignited gases to the cylinder.

6. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a rotary piston therein, an oscillating abutment normally closing the cylinder but adapted to move to permit the piston to pass, means to operate the abutment, said abutment having within it a closed explosion chamber, an inlet valve to admit an explosive charge to said chamber, means to ignite said charge, and means to admit the ignited gases to the cylinder after the piston has passed the abutment and the abutment has turned to close the cylinder.

7. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a piston therein, a movable explosion chamber, means to compress an explosive charge into said chamber, means to ignite said charge while it is in the chamber and before it is admitted to the cylinder, and means to open communication between said chamber and the cylinder after the charge has been ignited thereby to admit the ignited charge to the cylinder.

8. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a rotary piston therein, an abutment having within it a closed explosion chamber, means to move the abutment to permit the piston to pass, means to admit a charge of gas to the said chamber, means to explode said charge of gas, and an inlet valve movable separately from the abutment and controlling communication between said chamber and the cylinder.

9. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a rotary piston therein, an abutment having within it a closed explosion chamber, means to move the abutment to permit the piston to pass, means to admit a charge of gas to said chamber, means to explode said charge of gas, an inlet valve movable separately from the abutment and controlling communication between said chamber and the cylinder, and means to open said inlet valve to admit the ignited gases to the cylinder after the piston has passed the abutment and the latter has closed the cylinder.

10. In an internal combustion engine, an annular cylinder, a rotary piston therein, an abutment normally closing said cylinder and adapted to move to permit the piston to pass, said abutment having within it a closed explosion chamber, means to compress an explosive charge and force it into said chamber, means to explode said charge while in the chamber, and means to establish communication at proper intervals between said cham ber and the cylinder.

11. A turbine comprising a easing, a ro- 20 

